Flooring



June 10, 1930.

c. B. ULRICH FLOORING Filed 'June 1, 1929 3' Sheets-Shee l 7A. m 0. WM

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o 3 f/u 7 M J y C. B. ULRICH FLOORING June 10, 1930.

Filed June 1, 1929 5 Sheets-Shee 2 June 10, 1930. c BULRlCH 1,762,249

Patented June 10, 1930' UNITED STATES PATENTi OFFICE CHARLES B. ULRICH OF JAMESTOWN, NEXV YORK, ASSIGNOR TO ART METAL CON- STRUCTTON COMPANY, OF JAMESTOWN, NEW YORK FLOORING Application filed June 1,

This invention relates to flooring made mainly of metal and particularly to flooring of this kind which is used to form galleries or elevated walks in comiection'with '5 shelving for books, records, merchandise or the like. I

The objects of this invention are to form flooring of this kind of sheet metal and built in sections or units adapted to be seecured together to form the flooring; also to construct the sections or units with edge portions bent to form reinforcing langes for reinforcing the units and to facilitate securing the units together; also to form sheet metal sections or units of this kind having the edges thereof bent to form curbs or dust guards and also to reinforce and strengthen the flooring; also to provide means of improved construction for reinforcing the corners of sections'of the flooring; also to provide means of improved construction for reinforcing or stiffening the intermediate portions of the flooring; also to provide flooring of this kind which is 2 built or constructed in sections which can easily be secured together and which reinforce each other-when secured together; and also to improve flooring of this kind in other respects hereinafter specified.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary sectional elevation of a length of flooring embodying this invention and showing the same applied to shelving and to a wall of a building;

Fig. 2 is-a transverse fragmentary sectional elevation of shelving having flooring secured thereto, taken on line-2-2, Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional plan view of the shelving on an enlarged scale showing the plan view of the flooring;

Fig. a is a transverse fragmentary sectional elevation thereof 011 line 4:--4: of Fig.-

3 on a still larger scale;

Fig. 5 is a similar transverse sectional elevation of a section of flooringof modified construction Fig. 6 is a plan view, partly in section, of one of the flooring units showing the manner of securing the same to adjacent units and of 1929. Serial No. 367,647.

supporting the same from shelving or other structures Fig. 7 is a sectional elevation, on a reduced 88 of Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of a corner of a unit of flooring showing the means employed for aligning the dust guard or curbing; and

Fig. 10 a fragmentary bottom plan view of a corner of a unit of flooring showing a supporting member of another form secured thereto.

The flooring embodying this invention is shown in the accompanying drawings as applied to shelving, but it will be understood that my improved flooring may be used for other purposes, if desired. In Figs. 1 to 3, A represents a wall of a building and B B represents shelving which may be of any usual or suitable construction.

The flooring embodying this invention is built in sections or units which are so constructed as to be readily secured to each other to form flooring of any desired dimensions. The sections or units are made either entirely or mainly of sheet metal, which is bent or formed at the edge portions thereof in such a manner as to reinforce the sections or units and to enable them to be secured together below the tread portions thereof. By constructing flooring in this manner, a strong and rigid floor results, since the abut- -ting flanged edges of the units constitute the equivalents of reinforcing beams or joists for the flooring.

Flooring of 'thlS kind is consequently light in weight and strong and the units can be constructed at a factory in convement sizes and shipped to the place where they are to be installed in condition to be readily and quickly assembled.

The units or sections may be of any suitable or desired construction, those shown in the drawings each including a tread portion 15 which may be substantially fiat or other- :ppeari the sections, downwardly extending guards may extend vertically upwardly om the tread portions 15, as indicated at 14 in Figs. 1 and 3. The inclined dust guards have some advantages, for example,

that they can be easily aligned, as will be hereinafter more fully exp ained, and also make it easier to keep the flooring clean, but difiiculties would arise to form a finished corner at the intersection of two these ust guards. To overcome this difficulty, I form the floorin in such a manner that at the intersection 0 two dust guards, one of the dust guards is of the vertical type 14: as is shown 3. It is then merely necessary to cut the end of the vertical dust guard at an angle corresponding to the angle of the inclined dust guard 16, whereupon a correctly fitting corner is formed. Dust guards or curbing of' other forms ma however, be employed if desired.

' These ust guards reinforce or stiffen the flat-or tread portion 15 of the flooring and in order to further reinforce these e es of anges 17 are formed which extend from upper edges of the dust guards 14 and 16 downwardly, and if desired, the lower ends of these upright reinforcing flanges may beprovided at their lower edges with flanges '18 which extend parallel with the tread portion 15 and preferably inwardly or toward the middle portions of the sections. The dust guards and the fla cs 17 and 18 form a structural section, whic is made by bending integral parts of a sheet or'plate of metal, and whichare preferably formed integral with the tread portion 15 and reinforce the same to'enable the sections of the flooring to carry the loads to which they may be. subjected.

Those sides of thesections which are not provided with dust guards, preferably have their edge portions bent to form downwardly extending flanges 20, the lower ends of which may also terminate in inwardly extending flanges or parts 21, which extend parallel to and underneath the tread portion 15-of the floor section. These integral parts of the sectionsof the flooring also reinforce the same and may also be secured to correspending portions of adjacent sections or units of the flooring.

invention, these. dust I by bending one or two After the edge portions of'a section of flooring have been bent into the form described, corner pieces are (preferably secured to the ownwardly exten ng flanges of the units of the floor. These corner pieces may be of any suitable or desired form, those shown as indicated at 24, being made of sheet metal bent into angular shape. These corner pieces are (placed with their two legs in contact with a acent parts of the. downwardly extending flanges 17 and 20 andare then spot welded or otherwise rigidly secured to the flanges.

These corner pieces form rigid connections between the upright flanges and thus form a rigid reinforcing structure, holding the flanges 17 and 20 in their u right positions in which they will most e ectively resist the strains .to which the flooring is subjected, and. also causing each flange toassist in holding an adjacent flange or flanges in their upright positions.

When the flooring is used between two shelves or cases B as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, the sections of flooring may be rovided with dust guards 14 or 16 at opposite edges thereof. The other two sides of the flooring are provided with downwardly extending flanges 20 which may be secured to corresponding flanges of an adjacent section of the flooring so that the tread portions 15. form a continuous surface.

In order to reinforce the intermediate parts of the tread portions of'the sections or units between the sides thereof, reinforc ing beams or members of any suitable structure are preferably secured to the sections. In the particular construction shown, these reinforcing members are also made of sheet metal bent to form structural shapes having one ormore upright webs for resisting downward stresses. In the construction shown in Figs. 2, 4, 6 and 7, these reinforcing members are in the form of channel or U-shaped beams 28, each of which has a pair of upright webs connected at their lower ends by a base web 30, and the upper edges of the upright webs are bent outwardly to form flanges 29 which may be welded or other-wise secured. to the tread portion 15 of the flooring. The base web 30 which connects the upright webs of each beam preferably rests at its outer ends either on the inwardly turned flanges 21 or 18 of a floor section or unit. 7 In the construction shown the beams 28.rest on the flanges 21 with the ends of their upright webs abutting against the upright flanges 20 of the sections, so that these flanges of adjacent sections are braced against inward deflection, as shown in Fig. 6.

In this manner the intermediate parts of the tread portions of the sections are reinforced and the stresses transmitted to the beams are taken in part by the webs 21, so

flange 18 of that a thoroughly rigid structure results.

.It will be obvious that reinforcing beams or members or other construction may be employed,.if desired.

For example, in Fig. 5, beams 33 of Z-shaped cross section are provided, each of which has an upright flange terminating in horizontal flanges at the upper and lower edges thereof, the upper flange being welded or otherwise secured to the under face of the tread portion 15. -When this construction is employed, the lower flanges of the reinforcing beams 33 may be utilized for fastening a ceiling plate 35 thereto. In the construction shown, the ceiling plate has a. series of lips or hooks 34 secured to the upper face thereof, which lips may hook over a lower the lower flanges of the rein-. forcing-beams 33 as clearly shown in Fig. 5, the ceiling member then be'ng ri idly secured against unhooking by m ans 0 one or more screws 36, passing through the ceiling plate and a flange 18 or 21.

The flooring may be supported in any suitable or desired manner and several different types of supports for the flooring are shown in the drawings. For example, in Figs. 1 and 3 the edge of the flooring is supported from the wall A by means of a continuous angle bar 37 one flange of which is secured to the wall A in parallel relation thereto, and the other flange of which extends outwardly from the Wall and supports the adjacent edge of the flooring. The flooring shown in Figs 1 and 2 is supported from.

the shelving B by means of short lengths of angle bars 38, having their upright flanges secured to the shelving and a horizontal flange extending outwardly.- In this construction only the corners of the sections of flooring are supported on the short angle bars 38.

lVhen it is desired to securethe flooring to upright walls or partitions of shelving or similarstructures, a very simple and efficient supporting means for the flooring may be provided as is clearly shown in Figs. 3, 4, 6 and 10. In this construction each section of the flooring is provided at the corners thereof with an integral supporting member which includes an outwardly extending vertical web or plate 40 having its outer end provided with apertures to receive bolts or screws 41. These'bolts or screws connect the web or plate 40 with an upright wall or partition 42 of shelving or other structure. The plate '40 terminates at its inner end in an upright flange 44, which extends lengthwise of the adjacent longitudinal flange or edge of the flooring an which in turn is formed integral with a bottom flange or plate 45. The bottom flange or plate 45 is made of sufiicient size to overlap the portions of two adjacent ends of the bottom flanges 18 and 21, and a bolt of adjacent supporting members,

or screw 47 passes through the bottom plate .45 and the bottom flange 21. Another bolt the upright plates or walls 42 of the structure to which the supporting members are secured are spaced between two plates 40 so that the bolts or fastenlng devices 41 serve to support the adjacent corners of two different units or sections of the flooring.

In the particular construction shown in Figs. 7 and 8, the flooring is supported on aplurality of upright plates or beams 50, the ends of which are secured to suitable upright supports 51 of the shelving or other structure. In this case the adjacent sections of flooring are merely abutted against the opposite faces of the plates or beams 50 as shown in Fig. 8 and bolts or other fastening devices 52 pass through the upright flanges 20 and the beams 50 thus securely hold the sections of flooring between. adjacent beams. The up er edges of the beams preferably extend fl ush with the upper faces of the tread portions 15 of the flooring. W'hen plates or beams of this kind are used between two units, the dust guards l6 and the upright flanges 17 thereof are formed in such a manner that they extend beyond the end flanges 20 of the sections, and this can easily be done by cutting the sheet metal from .which the flooring sections are made accordingly. Preferably, these parts are made to extend beyond the flanges 20 to distances equal to half the thickness of the plates or beams 50 so that the ends of the dust guards will abut and leave no gaps, see Fig. 8.

The various supports for the flooring are illustrated merely by way of example and it will be obvious that other means for supporting the flooring may be devised.

' \Vhen the flooring is positioned in place and supported in any desired manner from a structure, it is desirable to maintain the dust guards. or curbing in correct alignment. This affords no difliculty in connec- (1 tion with the curbing 14 shown in Figs.

1 and 3, but with the inclined dust guards 16, additional means are preferably employed for maintaining these dust guards of the adjacent sections in alignment. In

the construction illustrated for this purevices' 47 and 48.

' such width as to fit comparativel within the dust guards between t e upper ose see articularly Figs. 4 and 9 ihg plates 55 are employed whichare' of tightly portion of the curbing and the upper edges of the corner plates 24'.

These plates are of suflicient length to extend a short distance into the space between the inclineddust guards 16 and the lower purpose, an

devices. 7

upright reinforcing flanges 17 and it be obvious that when two sections are secured to ether the ah'gmng' lates maintain tfie dust guards in t eii' correct relations. These ahgning plates also hold the adjacent portions of the fla cs 17 in their correct upright positions in which they oifer the greatest resistance to any strains to which the flooring may. be subjected.

amount of clear headroom below the floor ing. Whenceiling plates are used as shown in" Fig. 5, openings (not shown) may be provided in these plates for the lighting The flooring described has the advantage that it is of very much lighter weight than other floorin' heretofore used-for the same yetof suflicient strength to support the necessary loads. By forming the flooring of; sheet metal and in sections, the two abutting flanges 20, which are secured together by bolts or other securing means51, form structural shapes which not only facilitate the securing together of. ad-

jacent sections of flooring but also act as sills or flooring supporting beams for the entire flooring.

Consequently, the structure is especially rigid and each ofthe two adjacent flanges "20 prevents the other flange from buckling,

thus greatly reinforcing the floorin without increasing the weight thereo The flooring is so constructed'that the sections can be formed and built up in a factory and when they are installed it is merely necessary to secure these sections together and secure them to shelving or other structures by means of bolts.

The tread portions 15 of the flooring may be provided with any desired covering, for example, the tread surfaces may be coated 'allel with said tread portions tolocated within the flooring with a as halt paint, which prevent shagging on the flooring.

V 1. F100" formed of sections each of which inclu es a tread ortion having an edge thereof bent upwardly to form an integral dust guard and a reinforcing flange extendin downwardly from the upper edge of said ust guard, said flange having its lower edge portions bent in a direction substantially parallel with said tread, other sides of said tread having their edges bent to form downwardly extending flanges for attachment to corresponding flanges of adjacent sections, andsaid flanges havin their lower edge portions bent substanti arreinf rce the flanges.

2. Sheet metal flooring formed in sections, each section including a tread portion hav- 'aneedge thereof bent upwardly to form a ust ard and then downwardly to form a re" orcing flange, other sides of said tread portion having their edges bent downwardly to reinforce the tread ortion and to be secured to the downwar y extending flanges of adjacent sections, corner pieces secured to and connecting the adjacent ends of downwardly extending flanges-at the corners of said sections, the dust guard of adjacent sections being arranged in alignment, and a bar fitted said dust guard between the top thereof and a corner piece and extending into a similar relation to ajdust ard of an adjacent section-for maintain- 7 mg the adjacent ends of the dust guards in alignment.

3. Flooring including sections made of sheet, -metal and each a tread portion, a dust guard formed on a side of the tread portion and including an inclined flange extending upwardly from the tread portion, and other sections having a dust guard extending vertically upward from said tread portion, the end of the vertical dustguard extending across and closing the end of the inclined dust guard of an adjacent section. I V

4. Flooring formed of sheet metal and having a horizontal tread member, and an edge member including an inclined portion extending upwardly and outwardly from said tread portion and a portion depending from the edge of said inclined portion, whereby when said edge member is subjected to outward lateral strain, said inclined portion is placed under tension and acts to prevent deformation of the edge member of the flooring.

5. Flooring made in sections, each of which includes a horizontal tread member and an edge member including an inclined portion extending upwardly and outwardly from said tread portion and having a reinforcing depending portion extending from the edge thereof, whereby, when said edge member is subjected to outward lateral strain, said inclined portion is placed under tension and acts to prevent deformation of vthe edge member, and other sides of each section having depending reinforcing vmembers for attachment to corresponding mem bers of other sections, and means for rigidly attaching said members together.v

6. Flooring formed of sheet metal and including a horizontal tread member and opposite side members each including an upwardly and outwardly inclined bracing por-.

tion, an upright flange depending therefrom and extending below said tread member, and each of said upright flanges having its lower edgebentinwardly below said tread member towards the other flange, whereby said side members form combined dust guards and reinforcing members which act to stiff: en said flooring and also prevent deformation of the edges thereof.

.7. Flooring including a member, and an edge member including a flange bent upwardly at an obtuse angle to said tread portion to form a dust guard extending above the level of the tread portion, and a reinforcing portion including a web arranged in a substantially upright plane and extending downwardly from the upper edge of said flange, said flange acting under tension against lateral strains upon said edge portion.

CHARLES B. ULRICH.

horizontal I tread 

